Former player Sadogoppan Ramesh said that Sanju Samson’s shocking exclusion from the upcoming Zimbabwe T20I series has a reason behind it. The national selection panel has added Punjab Kings (PBKS) wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh to the squad as a like-for-like replacement for Samson. Ramesh claimed the move will help Shubman Gill return to the shortest format of the game.

Samson’s removal has shocked everyone, given his performances in India’s win in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Gill was excluded from the team just ahead of the global tournament. He was also appointed the vice-captain of the T20I side, but his below-par display confirmed the return of Samson to the Starting XI.

“It is wrong to drop Sanju Samson. People are thinking that Prabhsimran Singh has a good opportunity, but I am looking at it differently. They can’t do it directly and blatantly; that’s why they have taken this route to select Shubman Gill,” he said.

Gill is already leading India in Test cricket and one-day internationals and had replaced Samson as the opener after being recalled to the T20I team last year. However, he failed to get going and managed to record an average of less than 25 in 15 T20Is, leading to his omission before the ICC tournament.

However, he responded to his exclusion with his bat in the Indian Premier League 2026. Leading the Gujarat Titans in the 19th season of the tournament, he amassed 732 runs at an average of 45.75 and a strike rate of 163.02 in 16 matches. GT also made it to the final but lost to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Narendra Modi Stadium on May 31.

The 26-year-old has been consistent in the IPL, scoring over 600 runs in three of the last four editions. The situation is different in T20Is as the batter has an average of 28.03 and a strike rate of less than 139 in 36 games.